End-matcher.



W. S. SHERMAN.

END MATGHER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 9, 1910.

1,09 1,772. Pa tented Mar. 31, 1914.

3 SHEETB-SEEET 1.

m-wgiifi WI TNESSES.

TOR/V5 VS.

COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH C0 \vAsmmTcN u c 6mm, Qwwgwzwazz,

W. S. SHERMAN.

END MATOHER.

APPLICATION FILED Mn 9, 1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Mar. 31, 1914.

w/vwassm n 7' TQRNEVS.

W. S. SHERMAN END MATGHER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 9, 1910 1,09 1,772. Patented Mar. 31, 19m

3 EHEETS-SHEBT 3.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co WASHINGTON, n. c.

WILLIS S. SHERMAN, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

END-MATCHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 31, 1914.

Application filed May 9, 1910. Serial No. 560,237.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, VVILLIs S. SHERMAN,residing in Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State ofWisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in .ICnd-Matchers,of which the following is a description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a machine for cuttingtongues and grooves in the ends of strips of flooring and the like andwhich will be automatic in the feed of the material therethrough and inthe discharge of the material.

It is an object of the invention to facilitate the handling of thematerial being operated upon and thereby increase the capacity of themachine.

Another object of the invention is to provide an end matcher of such aconstruction that its adjustment for handling work of differentthickness may be easily accomplished without loss of time.

lVith the above and other objects in view the invention consists in theend matcher herein claimed, its parts and combinations of parts and allequivalents.

Referring to the accompanying drawings in which like characters ofreference indicate the same parts: Figure 1 is a front elevation of anend matcher constructed in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2 is anend elevation thereof showing the feed drum in position to receive astrip of flooring in one of its work carriers; Fig. 3 is a similar viewof a fragment thereof with the feed drum in position to discharge astrip of flooring from one of its work carriers; Fig. 4 is a plan viewof the machine, with parts broken away for clearness of illustration;and, Fig. 5 is a diagram of two of the end matohers of this inventionconnected together by a conveyer in such a manner as to perform the workupon the different ends of the strips of material.

In these drawings indicates a frame forming a bed on which areadjustably mounted bases 11 and 12 having cutters 13 journaled thereon.The arbor for each of the cutters 13 is provided with a pulley 14 andthe base 11 is also provided with an idle pulley '15 and a belt 16drives these pulleys by first passing over the idle pulley and thenunder the cutter pulley 14 on the base 11 and then over the other cutterpulley 14:,

and receives its motion by passing around a drive pulley 17 on acountershaft 18 which is suitably positioned and driven by a pulley 19from any suitable source of power. The cutters 13 are thus driven inopposite directions so that their adjacent portions move together in anupward direction, the particular machine illustrated being thus arrangedfor cutting the tongue on the end of a strip of flooring or the like.The modification necessary in the mate to the particular machine shownconsists in substituting a single cutter inv a vertical plane at rightangles to the plane of the. cutters here shown, its function being toout the groove in the opposite end of the strip of flooring or the like.

The strips of flooring 20 or other work to receive the end matchingoperation, as shown in Fig. 1, enter the machine on a suitably drivenconveyer belt 21 which is supported upon rollers 22 journaled in sideplates 23 and comes to a standstill upon meeting with a stop 24L in itspath, said stop being secured to the frame 10 and best shown in Figs. 2and 3. The conveyer belt 21 after passing beneath the stop 24 passesaround a pulley 25 which is swiveled in an extension bracket 26laterally adjustable on the frame 10 and then returns in the oppositedirection from the direction of the feed of material to the presentmachine and constitutes a discharge conveyer for the present machine anda feed conveyer for the mate to the present machine as shown in diagramin Fig. 5, this stretch of the belt being also supported by rollers 22between side plates 23. The operator, who stands at the front of themachine, which is the near side, as shown in Fig. 1, turns the strip offlooring up on its rear or grooved edge and while its end is still inengagement with the stop 24 slides it rearwardly along a table or worksupport plate 27 extending from the upper edge of the side plate 23 andinto a position where it will be engaged by a carrier of a feed drum tobe presented thereby to the action of the cutters.

The feed drum 28 is journaled in the frame 10 and comprises a pair ofcircular heads carried by a tubular core with trunnion ends which fit inthe bearings 29 of the frame, one of the trunnion ends being providedwith a worm wheel 30 contained in a worm casing 31 where it is driven bya worm 65, carried by a shaft 32 which is driven by its pulley 33 fromany suitable.

source of power. Each of the circular heads of the feed drum 28 isprovided with radial arms 34 and between these arms of the two heads arepivotally mounted carrier frames 35 which are free to swing away fromthe drum, but are normally held against the drum heads by means ofsprings 36 connecting them with a flange 37 on the drum core. The freeends of the carrier frames 35 bend outwardly and have pivotally mountedbetween them the work carriers 38 which are in the form of plates with awork seating flange 39 at their outer ends and work engaging shoulders40 at their inner or pivotal ends. These work carriers are free to swingoutwardly from the carrier frames and are normally held in .such outerposition by springs 41 connecting arms 42 projecting from the carrierswith the carrier frames near their pivotal ends, such arms 42 engagingthe carrier frames to limit the outward movement of the work carriers.In the rotation of the feed drum the work carriers are successivelypresented in position to engage the work on the table 27, the carrierframe 35 being provided with rollers 43 at its sides to travel againststationary guides provided therefor on the frame to cause the carrierframes to swing with relation to the drum for this purpose. One of theseguides for the rollers 43 at one side of the drum is formed by a guidestrip 44 secured to the frame, its beveled lower end, as shown in Fig.2, standing in the path of the rollers 43 to cause them to rideoutwardly and thereby swing the carrier frames forwardly toward theoperator and the work carriers 38 suspended therefrom are thus broughtinto a position with relation to the table 27 which will cause them toengage with the strip of vflooring which has been pushed rearwardly onsaid table against guides 45 and 46 so that the lower edge of the workwill rest upon the work supporting flange 39 of the carrier and theupper edge of the work will engage beneath the work engaging shoulders40. Then thus engaged the work will be lifted by the feeding drum, itsengagement at one end by the carrier being such that it is lifted bodilyin a horizontal position, the weight of the free end binding it betweenthe flange 39' and the shoulders 40. In this manner work is fed to thecutters with its end held rigidly in position to have the cuttingoperation produced at right angles to-the lines of its side edges,whether it is a long or a short strip. After swinging the carrier framesforwardly to receive the work in the carriers the rollers 43 ride up thevertical front edge of the guide plate 44 and between said guide plateand a guide strip 45 also rigidly mounted on the frame, the rollers onthe other side of the drum at. the same time bearing against a guidepassage of the work between the cutters 13 the movement of the carriersis in a substantially straight line. The work itself is guided to travelin a vertical course by bearing against the other side of the guidestrip 45 and the other side of the guide flange 46 from the surfacesthereof engaged by the rollers 43 and is held firmly against these guidesurfaces by means of a swinging presser guide 47 which has asubstantially vertical presser face bearing against the work with abeveled lower end to prevent the work binding therewith, said presserguide being pivotally mounted at its lower end 48, at a sufficientdistance from the engaging surface thereof to cause the engaging surfaceto remain approximately ver tical notwithstanding the slight movementsof the guide in pressing against work differing somewhat in thickness.

The pivotal connection for the presser guide 47 is carried by an arm 49of an adjustable head block 50 which is slidably mounted on the frame,being clamped thereto by means of screws 51 passing through elongatedslots 52 thereof, so that the machine may be set for operating upon workof different thickness. The presser guide v47 is set in position with a'predetermined spring pressure against yielding therefrom, a bolt 53passing through a 'slot therethrough and clamping it to the face. of thehead block 50 butv permitting the pivotal play thereof and a spring 54mounted on a stem 55 projecting from the presser guide and bearingagainst set nuts thereon at one end and against a lug 56 of the headblock 50 at the other end. The work being of slightly greater thicknessthan the normal 7 distance between the presser block 47 and the guides45 and 46 will be tightly clamped by the presser guide againstmoving outofv its right line feed course during its travel past the cutters andwork of slightly greater than normal thickness will be accommodated bythe yielding of the presser guide thereto. The normal position of thepresser guide is determined by set nuts 55 on the stem 55 engaging thelug 56.

hen the work has completed its upward course between the cutters and itslower edge has cleared the presser guide 47 the carrier frame is given asudden forward movement by the rollers 43 riding'against a cam sur face57 of the cam guide 44, which movement is to bring the work above theupper conveyer formed by the return length of the conveyor belt 21,before referred to, and may result in the work becoming free from. thecarrier. In case the work is not released from the carrier in thisforward movement of the carrier frame a spring hook 58 projecting fromthe head block 50 comes into engagement with a lug 59 on the work flange46 of the frame sothat during the 1 carrier just as the roller 43passes. off the.

cam surface 57 and starts its quick return movement toward the feed drumon the curved cam surface 60 of the cam guide 44 and this quick movementof the carrier frame under the action of its spring 36 while the lug 59is engaged by the hook 58 causes the carrier to be violently throwntoward the carrier frame so that a pin 61 projecting from the carrierframe will enter an opening 62 in the carrier and strike the work andknock it off the flange 39 on to the upper conveyer. The movement of thecarrier produced by its engagement with the hook 58 may besufficient todischarge the work without awaiting the action of the pin. The sidepiece 28 of the upper conveyer is provided with an inclined flange 63 toguide the work onto the conveyer as it falls from the carrier. Theswinging movement of the carrier to release the work disengages the lug59 from the hook 58 and the carrier is then returned to its normalposition by its spring 41, while the carrier frame is returned to itsnormal position by spring 36 with an easy movement under the guidance ofthe cam surface 60.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 4 the flanges 39 of the work carriers areextended beyond the carriers so as to support the work close to thecutters and between the guide 46 and the presser guide 47, toefficiently carry short as well as long strips.

With this invention the work is automatically fed to the machine againstthe stop 24 and it is only necessary for the operator to stand eachstrip on its rear edge and force it rearwardly across the table 27against the guides 45 and 46 when one of the work carriers as it comesinto position engages therewith, the machine automatically caring forthe work during the remainder of the operation thereon, by lifting it bymeans of the carrier through the guideway between the guides 45 and 46on the one side and the guide 47 011 the other side where it is heldwith its face tightly against the guide 46 by the pressure of the guide47 and in this movement the cutters operate thereon to cut the tongue orthe groove as the case may be and then the work is ejected from thecarrier in the manner described and deposited on the upper conveyer bywhich it is carried to the next machine or to the store room. Theoperator receives the strip with its face uppermost so that when it isturned to stand on its rear edge the face bears against the guide 46 tofix the position of the tongue or the groove with relation to said faceof the work and then when the work is discharged on to the upperconveyer it is again left face uppermost, for this upper conveyer of thefirst end matching machine constitutes the lower conveyer of the otherend matching machine as shown in Fig. 5 where the operation is repeatedand the finished: strip is delivered from the second machine by the upper conveyer thereof to the store room or other desired place. Thesecond machine is preferably provided with an opening 64 in its framethrough which the lower conveyer of the first machine passes.

In adjustin the machine to accommodate flooring of di erent thickness itis only necessary to change the position of the head block 50 to bringthe presser guide 47 nearer to or farther from the stationary guides 45and 46, the bracket extension 26 of the frame carrying the pulley 20 ofthe conveyers being correspondingly adjusted in position on the frameand the cutters being changed in their relation to each other by theadjustment of the bases 11 and 12 to stand the proper distance apart andthe proper distance from the face of the guide 46 to p10- duce thetongue for the new work.

The operation of the machine is quick and accurate, being largelyautomatic, and is easily adjustable for changing from work of onethickness to work of another thickness, while the arrangement of theconveyers is such that the end matching for both ends of the strip isfacilitated and the work is quickly introduced to the machines and carried therefrom.

The pull on the work and the pointfrom which the pull is made preventsthe lower edge of the work from having a. tendency to move away from theguides as with some other machines.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. An endmatcher, comprising a cutter, guides for leading work to the cutter, anda rotary feed mechanism comprising pivotally suspended work carriersadapted to receive and hold the work while forcing it along the guidesto receive the action of the cutter.

2. An. end matcher, comprising a cutter, guides positioned to lead workthereto, a 1'0- tary feed drum, swinging carrier frames carried thereby,and work carriers pivotally suspended from the carrier frames adapted toreceive the work and carry it through the guides to receive theoperation of the cutter.

3. An end matcher, comprising a cutter,

guides in position to lead work thereto, a. rotary feed drum, carrierframes movably mounted on the feed drum, work carriers pivotallysuspended from the carrier frames, and a cam engaged by the carrierframes for causing them to move with relation to the drum'to cause thework carriers to travel. in an approximately straight line at one pertion of their circuit of movement, said work carriers being adapted toreceive work and carry it during their straight line movement betweenthe guides and into engagement with the cutter.

4. An end matcher, comprising a cutter, a rotary feed drum, springretracted swinging carrier frames thereon, spring retracted swingingcarriers on the carrier frames, rollers on the carrier frames, a cam inthe path of the rollers for causing the carrier frames to swing on thefeed drum and move the carriers in an approximately straight line at oneportion of the circuit of .movement thereof, said work carriers beingadapted to receive work, and guides between which the work is carried bythe work carriers into engagement with the cutter during the straightline movement of the work carriers.

An end matcher, comprising a cutter, a rotary feed drum, springretracted swinging carrier frames thereon, spring retracted swingingcarriers on the carrier frames, rollers on the carrier frames, a cam inthe path of the rollers for causing the carrier frames to swing on thefeed drum and move the carriers in an approximately straight line at oneportion of the circuit of movement thereof, said work carriers beingadapted to receive work, guides between which the work is carried by thework carriers into engagement with the cutter during the straight linemovement of the work carriers, and a cam in the path of the rollers toviolently swing the carrier frames for ejecting the work from the workcarriers.

6. An end matchcr, comprising a cutter, a rotary feed drum, springretracted swinging carrier frames thereon, spring retracted swingingcarriers on the carrier frames, rollers on the carrier frames, a cam inthe path of the rollers for causing the carrier frames to swing on thefeed drum and move the carriers in an approximately straight line at oneportion of the circuit of move ment thereof, said work carriers beingadapted to receive work, guides between which the work is carried by thework 'carriers into engagement with. the cutter during the straight linemovement of the work carriers, and a. hook in the path of'the workcarrier adapted to engage therewith and cause the work carrier to swingwith relation to the carrier frame.

'7. An end matcher, comprising a cutter, a rotary feed drum, springretracted swinging carrier frames thereon, spring retracted swingingcarriers on the carrier frames, rollers on the carrier frames, a cam inthe path of the rollers for causing the carrier frames to swing on thefeed drum and move the carriers in an approximately straight line at oneport-ion of the circuit of movement thereof, said work carriers beingadapted to receive work, guides between which the work is carried by thework carriers intoen gagement with the cutter during the straight linemovement of the work carriers, a hook in the path of the work carrieradapted to engage therewith and cause the work car'- rier to swing withrelation to the carrier frame, and a pin on the carrier frame forstriking and ejecting the work from the work carrier when the workcarrier is swung by the hook.

8. An end matcher, comprising a cutter, a rotary feed drum, springretracted swinging carrier frames there-on, spring retracted swingingcarriers on the carrier frames, rollers on the carrier frames, a cam inthe path of the rollers fo-rcausing the carrier frames to swing on thefeed drum and move the at one portion of the circuit of movementthereof, said work carriers being adapted to receive work, guidesbetween which the work is carried by the work carriers into engagementwith the cutter during the straight line movement of the work carriers,a cam in the path of the rollers to violently swing the carrier framesfor ejecting the work from the work carriers, a hook in the path of thework carrier adapted to engage therewith relation to the carrier frame,and a pin on the carrier frame for striking and ejecting the work fromthey work carrier when the work carrier is swung by the hook. 9. An endmatcher, comprising a cutter, guides for leading work to the cutter, arotary feed mechanism for receiving the work and carrying it through theguides into engagement with the cutter, a stop, a conveyer for bringingthe work into position against the stop, and a table upon which the workmay be tilted on edge from the conveyer and forced into the feedingmechanism while in engagement with the stop.

10. An end matcher, comprising a cutter, guides for leading work tothe-cutter, a rotary feed mechanism for receiving the work and carryingit through the guides into engagement with the cutter, a stop, aconveyer against the stop, a table upon which the veyer and forced intothe feeding mechanism while in engagement with the stop, and a conveyerinto which the work is dis nism after passing the cutter.

11. An end matcher, comprising a frame, a feed drum mounted thereon,swinging carrier frames carried by the feed drum, swinging work carrierscarried by the carrier frame, a cutter'adjustably mounted on the frame,a head block adjustably mounted on the frame, a guide fixed on theframe, a yielding guide mounted on the head block and held in positionwith relation to the other guide with spring pressure, said workcarriers being adapted to receive work and carry it through the spacebetween thev guides into engagement with the cutter.- and theadjustments of the cutter and of the of difierent thickness.

carriers in an approximately straight line for bringing the work face upinto position work may be tilted on-edge from the con-- charged face upfrom the feeding mechahead block permitting the operation on'work.

with and cause the work carrier to swing 12. An end matcher, comprisinga frame, a feed drum mounted thereon, swinging carrier frames carried bythe feed drum, swinging work carriers carried by the carrier frames acutter adjustably mounted on the frame, a head block adjustably mountedon the frame, a yielding guide pivotally mounted on the head block, aspring bearing upon the yielding guide for holding it with pressure inposition with relation to the other guide, said work carriers beingadapted to receive work and carry it through the space between theguides and into engagement with the cutter, and conveyers carried by thehead block to bring the Work to the carriers and to carry it therefrom.

13. A pair of end matcher machines con nected by a belt conveyer, eachmachine comprising a cutter, work guides, and a work feeding mechanismadapted to lift work vertically through the work guides and past thecutter, said conveyer bringing the work to the work feeding mechanismbelow the cutter and for carrying the work from the work feedingmechanism above the cutter, whereby the upper conveyer of one machineconstitutes the lower conveyer of another machine.

14. An end matcher, comprising a cutter, work guides for leading Work tothe cutter, a rotary member, carrier frames pivotally mounted on therotary member, guides for the carrier frames, and carriers pivotallysuspended from the carrier frames to receive work and carry it throughthe work guides while the carrier frames are in engagement with theirguides.

15. An end matcher, comprising a cutter, guides for leading work to thecutter, a suitably operated carrier frame, and a work carrier pivotallysuspended from the carrier frame and adapted to receive work and carryit through the guides into engagement with the cutter.

16. An end matcher, comprising a. cutter, a rotary feed drum, springretracted swinging carrier frames thereon, spring retracted swingingcarriers on the carrier frames, rollers on the carrier frames, a cam inthe path of the rollers for causing the carrier frames to swing on thefeed drum, said work carriers being adapted to receive work, and guidesbetween which the work is carried by the work carriers into engagementwith the cutter during the straight line movement of the work carriers.

17 An end ma-tcher, comprising a cutter, work guides for leading work tothe cutter, a rotary member, carrier frames pivotally mounted on therotary member, guides for the carrier frames, carriers suspended fromthe carrier frames to receive work and carry it though the work guideswhile the carrier frames are in engagement with their guides, and meansfor swinging the carriers to discharge the work after it has passed thecutter.

18. An end matcher, comprising a cutter, guides for leading work to thecutter, a suitably operated carrier frame, a work carrier suspended fromthe carrier frame and adapted to receive work and carry it through theguides into engagement with the cutter, and means for swinging thecarrier to discharge the work therefrom after it has passed the cutter.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIS S. SHERMAN.

Witnesses R. S. C. CALDWELL, ALMA A. KLUG.

(topic! of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the commissioner of Patents. Washington, I). 0.

